If you love beer, you are living in some amazing times, my friend. If you want fresh beer from a brewery coming out of your kitchen sink’s faucet you can do that. Technology has helped the art of brewing (and packaging) for years. 5,000 years to be exact.
Archaeologists have recently discovered “beer-making tool kits” in cool underground spaces that were built some time between 3400 and 2900 B.C. at a massive dig site above the Chan River in Shaanxi Province, China. These spaces were apparently ideal for brewing and storing beer due to their cool temperatures. The “tool kits” are actually quite advanced for being 5,000-years-old. The archaeologists dug up a clay stove, pots, and some funnels. These ancient tools were then analyzed and tested using ion chromatography to find out what type of beer the ancient Chinese were brewing and chugging.
Was it a Double IPA? No, not quite. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published what they determined was the recipe that was used 5,000-years-ago. If you’re a home brewer, maybe you want to try this out. The recipe is quite simple: Broomcorn millet, barley, and Job’s Tears which is described as a “mildly sweet and earthy grain”.
Jiajing Wang, an archaeologist from Stanford University told NPR what scientists think the beer would taste like. He said, “it would taste a bit sour and sweet.” The beer certainly wouldn’t please a modern day hophead, but it might have tasted better than whatever swill you drank in college.
(Via: Ars Technica)
